South Korean farmers riot in anti-WTO demo

South Korean farmers have clashed with riot police, making fires and throwing rocks and excrement at them.

Around 20,000 farmers gathered in Gwacheon and Seoul to protest at the Government's farm policies.

The demonstrations were also organised to mark the start of new World Trade Organisation talks.

The farmers oppose the WTO's move to liberalise agricultural markets.

The protesters, including members of the Korean Advanced Farmers Federation (KAFF) arrived on about 500 buses and held a rally in front of the Government complex in Gwacheon, south of Seoul, and at the HQ of the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation in central Seoul.

They want the Government to pay higher prices for their rice, and reform the nation's agricultural policies, the Korea Herald reports.

"Rice has been a lifeline of our nation for 5,000 years, but the Government is giving up on rice farming and driving farmers to death," says Choi Yoo-seop, head of the Gyeonggi Provincial office of the KAFF.